NUI Galway was the big winner in the gradireland Postgraduate Course of the Year Awards which took place last Thursday in the Mansion House, Dublin. Taking home three major awards in the Postgraduate course of the year categories, NUI Galway graduate Shaun O’Shea also won the main award on the night – the Graduate Employee award.

The annual Postgraduate Course of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), recognises excellence amongst Irish postgraduate course providers. The winning courses are judged on the success of the course including employability of graduates, recognition of the course’s quality or ranking by external bodies, research record of academic staff, and providing a good experience for students. Judges also take feedback from students into consideration when selecting a winner.

The NUI Galway awards included:

Postgraduate Course of the Year – Business

NUI Galway: MSc in International Management

Postgraduate Course of the Year – Engineering

NUI Galway: Masters of Applied Science (Enterprise Systems)

Postgraduate Course of the Year – Science

NUI Galway: MSc in Biomedical Science (via Distance Learning)

Also scooping the main award of the night was recent NUI Galway graduate of the Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management (MSc) Shaun O’Shea, originally from Tralee, Co.Kerry, who now works for Sigmar Recruitment and was presented with the Graduate Employee of the Year Award.

Speaking on the awards, Registrar and Deputy President of NUI Galway, Professor Nollaig Mac Congáil, said: “We are delighted to have done so well in these national awards especially at a time when postgraduate study has never been more important to ensure students and graduates can compete at a higher level for jobs in a very competitive market, both in Ireland and abroad. NUI Galway has worked hard at developing a wide range of courses to facilitate those interested in postgraduate study which is now recognised as being some of the best on offer nationally.”

With eight courses in contention, NUI Galway was the higher education institution with the most shortlisted entries this year, a notable achievement, considering there were 126 entries to the competition in total. NUI Galway also took home the most awards on the night of any other shortlisted institution.

Valerie Leahy, Postgraduate Recruitment Officer at NUI Galway, said: “Included in our awards is the Biomedical Science programme, just one of the courses we offer as a part-time postgraduate option and which is proving extremely popular in the current climate, especially for those who want to work and study at the same time. This year the University is also offering full-time taught masters scholarships for first class students and those interested should certainly get in touch with us.”

All the courses in question are currently accepting applications those interested can apply online via the Postgraduate Applications Centre at www.pac.ie.

NUI Galway offers a wide range of fourth level courses, developing programmes based on its traditional academic strengths of Arts, Social Sciences, Celtic Studies, Business, Medicine, Nursing, Health Science, Law, Engineering, Informatics and Science. These areas have been augmented with innovative Research Centres in areas as diverse as Biomedical Engineering, International Human Rights, Digital Media & Film Studies, and Regenerative Medicine. Almost 3,500 postgraduate students (including international students) currently attend NUI Galway.

For further information on any of the postgraduate courses available at NUI Galway call 091-495148 or visit www.nuigalway.ie/courses.